Tuesday, 23 October 2012

Is your internal auditor a back seat driver or a coach for excellence?

Each of us, in our personal lives, has suffered with people who don’t
have anything good to say. All they do is carp and point out all your
mistakes, even when they are not mistakes.

The back seat driver is the epitome of this annoying individual. He
doesn’t participate in helping you get to your destination, but just
annoys with complaints and pointing out when you missed your street.

The mother-in-law is another caricature of an individual that has
nothing but negative to say. I like the joke: what is behind every
successful person? An astonished mother-in-law. These people seem to find joy in your distress.

So what do we do with them? We tune them out. We try not to pay
attention. We do not permit them to influence our actions and lives.

But how many internal auditors fit this profile? How many just drone
on about failures of controls and how we have taken risks we should not
(not including allowing them in the back of the car)?

Years ago, I talked to a business executive who was so fed up with
the internal auditors at his location that he moved them out of their
onside office to a location a few miles away.

Let’s contrast that with the person that I hope everyone has in their
life: a coach for excellence, a mentor on life’s journey that is not
hesitant to tell you the truth about where you are and the mistakes you
are about to make, but does so with the clear intent to help you
succeed. Criticisms are constructive and designed to help not hinder.

This is the person you welcome, not to the back seat of your life,
but right next to you in front. Your mentor and life coach gives you a
better chance for success, to be a better person, to win in the game of
life.

How many internal auditors are life coaches for excellence? How many
recognize that the only way they succeed is through the success of their
organization?

Success is not measured in the number of findings, but in the lack of findings as controls are improved.

What type of internal auditor does your organization have?

Don’t tell me that in order to be independent and objective the
auditor cannot align with the success of the organization. I will kick
those auditors to the curb.